Analogies with optical bistability in ferroelectrics

Mathematical analogies are developed between the formalism used to describe regenerative pulsations accompanying optical bistability in ferroelectrics and that used to parametrize the transition from steady flow to laminar vortex generation in viscous fluids. An “effective Reynolds number” and an “effective specific viscosity” are both defined for the optical bistability model. The characteristic length in the problem is defined in a way similar to that in Abrikosov's theory of Type II superconductors.